Search - Marillion :: Happiness Is The Road

Give it time...it will blossom into a masterpiece

Stephen Scicluna | MALTA | 10/12/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The problem with the kind of music Marillion creates is that it takes some time to sink in, but once it does...magic! When I first heard the album, I was slightly disappointed. 2004's 'Marbles' was crammed with excellent stuff and its follow up 'Somewhere else', though containing some filler, has been escalating my personal chart quite fast.



I was constantly telling myself "What's this hype all about Happiness is the road?" After repeated listenings over a number of weeks I started to understand. The music is mild yet deep with an underlying beauty hard to describe. The first cd should be listened in one go. Individual songs don't sum up the effect of the piece as a whole. The title track is obviously a standout and the songs 'Essence', 'Wrapped up in time', 'State of mind' and 'Trap the spark' are very very good. I wished the chorus of 'Nothing fills the hole' was longer but you can't have everything, can you?



Unfortunately, many seek the initial impact of music - quick thrill, but after a few listens, a song is quickly forgotten. This album is the complete opposite. Great stuff takes time to settle in. This album is no exception.



"

Happiness Banishes Fear

Robert J. Howal | Nowhere USA | 10/02/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Having been underwhelmed with Marbles and then hearing only the insipidly banal Most Toys from the Somewhere Else album, I feared that Marillion had lost it completely. As a result I never have picked up Somewhere Else and was not planning to acquire this two record set either. I have had so many good years of listening to Marillion from Script of a Jester's Tear right on through to Marbles that I figured I could be satisfied that they used to be a uniquely talented and creative band and that their back catalog could keep me in good stead for years to come.



However, something prompted me to see what they were up to via YouTube and I found that I actally liked what I was hearing, contrary to expectations. So I was fortunate enough to find both volumes of HITR in pristine shape at a used record store and bought them both. How auspicious!!! Volume 1: Essence finds them in the finest form since Afraid of Sunlight (my favorite) or the earlier Brave which so elegantly consolidated their many superior talents that to me it serves as a sort of template for how truly great Marillion albums are built. This record is spun from the gossamer substance that forms the substrate for that template. It is a substantiation of the subtle and sublime that only Marillion can muster in modern pop music. All the texture and beauty that you have come to enjoy in their work is here in a fresh and rich presentation.



Essence is a series of songs that hang together so naturally and warmly that even the spaces between the tunes can be appreciated as a positive part of the whole. Where Marbles supeficially fit the structural mold it came off feeling contrived and artificial. I think the lads are in tune with this because Essence recaptures the depth and purity somehow missing there. And this work is so aptly and tellingly titled. Here is Marillion in all their glorious splendor, at the height of their abilities. Nuanced and powerful. With this release one of the most important bands of the last half century has proven that they will be one of the most important bands of this new century. If you have any doubts...see them live! So thank you gentlemen. You have unequivocally and irrevocably banished my fear...and man am I feeling HAPPY!"